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PROCEEDINOS 



OF txie: 



Legislature and | Historical Society 



ox^ txie: 



STATE OF ARKANSAS, 



.A.iTi3 the: 



EOLECTIO SOOIET"^, 



OF LITTLE ROCK, AMK., 



Fixing the Pronunc 




e Name Arkansas. 



PRINTED FOB THE ECIjECTIC SOCIETT. 



LITTLfi." ROCK, ARK. : 
PRINTED BY KELLOGG PRINTING COMPANY. 

1881. 



C.V 



CIRCULAR LETTER. 



To the Colleges, High Schools, Literary Associations, and Publishers of Dic- 
tionaries and School Books in the United States : 

In behalf of the Arkansas Histoi'ical Society, which is recognized by, 
and under the patronage of tlie State ; ihe Eclectic Societj', which is an As- 
sociation for literary and scientiiic purposes, of gentlemen who fairly repre- 
sent our intellectual culture ; and of the Legislature of our State, which in 
this regard, has manifested its wishes by joint resolution, I respectfully 
commend to your attention the following proceedings which explain them- 
selves : 

I may add what, from the action of the Legislature, may appear need- 
less — that a very large majority of the population of our State feel an inter- 
est preserving what they consider the original and only correct pronuncia- 
tion of its beautiful Indian name ; and will duly appreciate all current 
efforts to make it the only one in use among English speaking people. 

JNO. II. EAKIN, 

Chairman of Joint Committee of the Historical and Eclectic Societies. 



JOINT RESOLUTION 



OF THE 



General Assembly of the State of Arkansas. 



Whereas, Confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the 
name of our State ; and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation 
should be determined for use in oral official proceedings ; and, whereas, 
the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society, 
and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the cor- 
rect pronunciation as derived from history and the early usage of the 
American immigrants. 

Be it therefore resolved by both Houses of the General Assembly, That the 
only true pronunciation of the name of the State, in the opinion of this 
body, is that received by the French word representing the sound ; and 
that it should be pronounced in three syllables, with the final "s" silent. 
The "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the 
first and last syllables, being the pronunciation formerly universally and 
now still most commonly used ; and that the pronunciation with the 
accent on the second syllable, with the sound of "a" in man, and the 
sounding of the terminal " s " is an innovation to ])e discouraged. 

Approved March 15, 1881. 

T. J. CHURCHILL, 

Governor of A rkansas. 



DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, ] 

Office of Superintendent, >• 

Little Rock, Ark., April 11, 1881. j 

A careful perusal of this pamphlet w'ill, I think, remove all doubt as to 
the original and proper pronunciation of the name of this State. I think it 
would be well for publishers, in future editions of dictionaries and text-books, 
to respect the decision reached by the gentlemen who have given this mat- 
ter so thorough an investigation, and the will of the people of the State as 
expressed by the joint resolution of the Legislature. 

JAS. L, DENTON, 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



IN RELATION 



TO THE 



Pronunciation of tlie Name "Arkansas." 



To the Eclectic Society. 

Gentlemen : — Your committee appointed to confer with a like 
committee on the part of the Arkansas Historical Society, to 
investigate and determine upon the correct pronunciation of the 
name of the State, report that the committee of the Historical 
Society was promptly appointed upon our suggestion, and the 
joint committee organized a few days afterwards. The members 
of both committees have entered upon the work with genuine 
interest, and have given the matter an exhaustive consideration. 
They have called to their aid history, tradition, philosophy, and 
have derived all the light accessible from the memories and recol- 
lections of the more intelligent days of early settlers. They have 
derived important aid also from acts of Congress and treaties 
with Indian tribes. There have been several meetings of the 
joint committee from time to time, in which the matter has been 
freel}^ discussed in a colloquial manner, and measures devised for 
wider investigation. One of the most gratifying results of the 
inquiries instituted has been a letter from our world-renowned 
American poet, Longfellow, to a member of our committee, in 
which, upon authority and also as a matter of taste, he expresses 



a decided preference for the old and more common pronunciation. 

Such authorit}" would be decisive to turn the scale, if there could 

be any doubt ; but there is none. 

It remains to say that the members of the joint committee have 

been unanimous in their report, which is herewith respectfully 

submitted with accompanying papers. 

JNO. R. EAIHN, 
H. C. CALDWELL, 
LEO BAIER, 
N. JOHNSON, 
U. M. ROSE. 
Committee of "^. *S." 



REPORT 



Of the Joint Committee of the Eclectic and Arkansas Historical Societies, 
upon the Name of the State. 

The committee reports to the Eclectic Society and the Arkansas 
Historical Society that they have fully considered of the proper 
pronunciation of the name of the State, and find : — 

That the name is taken from that of a tribe of Indians inhab- 
iting the country upon the northern bank of the river of the same 
name. The early French explorers caught from them the sounds 
of the name, and endeavored to represent them by French modes 
of spelling. In other words, it belongs to the class of Gallicized 
Indian names, which, together with those of purely French origin, 
make so imi)ortant a part of the nomenclature of the rivers, 
mountains, and prairies of the territory purchased from the 
French under the name of Louisiana. Of these it may be 
remarked, in passing, that generally they are highly beautiful, and 
enter smoothly into poetry and the highei' styles of composition. 
They are associated also -^^ilh the legends of the countiy, the 



— 3 — 

adventures of the earlier explorers, and the strug-gles of the later 
pioneers of civilization, who made here the tirst i)ermanent settle- 
ments for their posterity. In the old diaries, notes, reports, and 
rude mai)s of the eai-ly French, the name is differently^ spelled. 
Each, having no guide, made his own phonetic effort to represent 
sounds heard upon the lips of the natives. For a more particular 
account of which we refer to the accompanying pa])ers by Messrs. 
U. M. Rose, S. AY. Williams, and others. In one thing all agree, 
that the sounds represented by the letters and syllables can, in the 
French language, be nothing different from that i)ronunciation 
which afterwards became common, namely, the pronunciation in 
three syllables with the final "s " silent and the broad sound of 
"a" in each. This French pronunciation i)assed afterwards to 
the Americans, prior to and with our purchase of the territory, 
and was used l)y all the people, as well as by statesmen in official 
transactions. This is abundantly illustrated l\y the American 
spelling, which, for a while, was adopted to indicate approximately 
the French sounds. The English not having the final silent "s," 
tlie letters " aw " were introduced temporarily to avoid corrup- 
tion in pronunciation. They nearly, but not quite, represent the 
broad sound of "a" in the French, with the silent "s." This 
became the spelling of Congress. Whether adopted by chance or 
design, it was a happ}' thought. It caught the jironunciation, and 
transported it into the English at a critical j^eriod, when it might 
have been lost or corrupted as many French names of less imi)or- 
tance have been, to the point of entire disguise. When the pro- 
nunciation had become familiar, and the danger was thought to 
be past, the better taste of our more cultured i)eo})le, amongst 
whom was Governor Izzard, of this State, insisted upon a restora- 
tion of the original orthography, which was easily effected, and 
now universally^ adopted. For uniformity, however, it would still 
be pardonable to use the orthography of Congress, in the act 
establishing the Territory. 

Through these changes in spelling we are satisfied that the pro- 
nunciation remained unaltered, and was so used by all the people 
until a quite recent period, and is still used by a very large major- 
ity of the people of all classes. 

We have taken some pains to inquire into the origin of a vicious 
pronunciation which, by some unaccountable means, has latel}' 



— 4 



come to be used by a small class of educated and worthy people, 
and has obtained recognition to some extent amongst lexicogra- 
phers. By it, the accent is east on the middle syllable, the final 
"s" is sounded, and the Italian sound of "a" in the second 
and third syllal)les changed to the sound of "a" in con, instead 
of its sound in car. Its origin, although quite recent, eludes all 
investigation. It has no l)asis of reason, authority, or prior 
polite usage. It is simply a wanton innovation, and has been 
prompted, we think, by an over-nice desire to avoid what were 
supposed to be the vulgarisms of manner and speech prevalent 
amongst the earlier population. Those who adopted it failed to 
examine into the true pronunciation, and thus to distinguish it 
from admitted vulgarism ; and, what was less pardonable, failed 
to consider that they would thus render ridiculous a name highly 
poetic in its sounds, and associated with tlie grandest memories of 
the past, from tlie days of Marquette downward. We are happy to 
state, however, that we find this vicious habit less universal and less 
firmly established than the honor given it by lexicographers led us 
to fear. It has never obtained except amongst a small class of 
immigrants from more distant States. It is almost unknown in 
those States which have furnished the great mass of our poj^ula- 
tion, and entirely so amongst those born and bred in the State, or 
who came here at an early period. 

We are, therefore, unanimous, and without hesitation, in declar- 
ing it as the result of our inquiries that the true pronunciation 
of our State is in three syllables, with the broad Italian sound of 
"a" in each, and with the final "s" silent, with the accent on 
the first and last. The spelling is correct, and indicates proi)erly 
its French origin. 

The polite world will, doubtless, concede to our State the privi- 
lege of fixing the proiuuiciation of its own name. The pronun- 
ciation herein indicated as i)roper is now retained and commonly 
used b}^ the governor, heads of departments, and all the judges 
of our superior courts. We beg leave to recommend that it con- 
tinue to be used in all oflflcial viva voce proceedings ; and to pro- 
mote the continuation of this, and the better to inform the world, 
we recommend that this joint committee, or one formed for the 
purpose, be instructed to use all proper efforts to procure from 
the next General Assembly a joint resolution to the same effect, 



and that the}^ transmit the same, when passed, to tlie pnblishers of 
the principal lexicons, gazetteers, and school geographies in the 

United States. 

JOHN R. EAKIN, 
* H. C. CALDWELL, 

LEO BAIER. 
N. JOHNSON. 
U. M. ROSE, 
THOMAS WELCH, 
C. B. MOORE, 
S. W. WILLIAMS, 
E. H. ENOLISH, 
M. W. BENJAMIN, 

Joint Co7nniiUee. 



To Hon. John R. Eakin, President Joint Committee, Little Rock, 

Ark. 

j^uj. — According to the agreement made at the last meeting 
of the joint committee of the Eclectic and Historical Societies, 
each member of the committee has to write his views of the 
proper spelling and pronunciation of the name of this State, with 
the reasons and authority for it. I have postponed my work until 
an hour so late that I must simply give my views and reasons, 
without time to cite much, if any, authority. 

First, the name of this State is unquestional^ly taken from the 
name of a tribe of Indians which occupied a portion of the terri- 
tory of the State north of the Arkansas River and west of the 
Mississippi, at the time this country was first explored and settled 
by the French, which tribe is now extinct. The first phonetic 
spelling of their name was by the French, and as that language 
has no ''w" in its alphabet, we find among the writings of the 
early French explorers that the names of the Arkansaws, the 
Chickasaw^s, the Choctaws, and the Quapaws, who occupied the 
Lower Mississippi, are either si)elled with a final broad '"a," 
with the circumflex accent, or "as," the final "s" being always 
silent in that language. It is a remarkable fact that nearly, or 
quite, all the tribes of Indians which occupied the country near 
the Mississippi River and immediately west of it had names 



— 6 — 

which ended in the same sonnd, aw, and which tradition teaches 
were prononnced lilvc atv or ah. Some of these names have 
been changed in pronnnciation — as the Ottawas, Chippewas, Ca- 
hokias, Peorias, Kasl^ias, Mitchigameas, wliose names have been 
lost in part and tlie pronnnciation anghcised and changed. The 
Omahas, the Utahs, and some others, have never varied their 
original French spelling and pronnnciation, wliile the A¥icliita 
Indians still retain the French spelling and pronunciation ; 3'et to 
this day, in the United States treaty with them, their name is 
spelled Wlchitaiv. While the Appalachicolas maintain their pro- 
nunciation till yet, as well as the above spelling, which is the 
method used in the treaty with them, the Piankeshas of the 
French, in our treaties with tliem, are spelled Piankeskaw. So 
of places and streams. Thus, we have to this day tlie French 
spelling perjietuated in this State in Ouachita, pronounced uni- 
formly Wachitaw; Tensas, Tensaw; and in Wattensas we have, 
in the name of a small trilnitary of tlie White River, the French 
speUing of the first syllable changed from " oua " to " wa " in 
the first syllable, and retained in the last syllable, while the [)ro- 
nunciation is retained Watlensaiu. 

In the treaty of 1818 with the Quapaws (See United States 
Statutes, vol. 7) the name of this State is spelled Arkansaw. 

So in the early acts of Congress, down to the act of March, 
1819, authorizing the organization of the Territory, Gov. Izard, 
who took charge of the Territorial Government in 1824, and who 
was an accomplished French scholar, always insisted upon Ar- 
kansa, without the final "s," as the correct spelling, and in all 
of his official papers it is so spelled. But he uniformly pro- 
nounced it Arkansaw, and insisted that that was the correct 
way to i)ron()unce the name. Perhaps nine-tenths of the popu- 
lation of this State have always so pronounced the name of our 
own State, and we feel really aggrieved that a distant lexicogra- 
pher has undertaken to call our i)ronunciati()n vulgar, when it is 
sustained by such sti'ong documentary evidence and traditions. 

As to the method of spelling the name of our State, I am in 
favor of preserving the French spelling and the French pronun- 
ciation until there is a radical jilionetic reformation in our 
language. If dei)()t is pronounced by the polite and educated 
dapo, I do not see how Arkansas becomes vulgar when pro- 



nouuced correctly Arkansmv, by the same rule of preserving the 
French pronunciation, and this |)ronunciation is no more arbitrary 
than to pronounce plough, ploiv, bough, boiv, while we pronounce 
tough, tujf, and rough, rujf. 

Again, the pronunciation Arkansatv clearly distinguishes the 
sound from Kansas, which, if the last syllal)les are pronounced 
alike, is easily confounded by the ear. 

Regretting that time will not permit a more extended citation 
of authority, and regretting some my unavoidable absence from 
the sitting of the committee on the 10th, I have the honor to sub- 
scribe myself, 



Yours, etc.. 



SAIHUEL W. WILLIAMS. 



Little Rock, May 11, 1880. 
Judge EaJiin. 

Dear Sir: — Your name appears first in a published list of a 
committee to decide upon the proper name of our State. There- 
fore, and because it is you, — an old editor, famous for patience 
under the infliction of bores, — and not the public, who are to be 
annoyed, I take courage to write. I feel, in making these sugges- 
tions, that it is very like carrying coals to Newcastle, for they 
have doubtless been fully discussed ; but my presumption can 
only be fully appreciated wlien I acknowledge that I am no philo- 
logist ; that my acquaintance with the French is not recent, and 
was never thorough, and that I have notliing of a historical or 
traditional character to communicate. 

I am glad to see that the duty of the committee is not to decide 
between " Arkan'sas " and "Ar'kansaw\" but to "settle upon 
the name of the State." One of my suggestions was anticipated 
a short time since in a Gazette article (I think), which recalled 
the fact that "the French pronunciation of ' sas ' is neither 
sass nor saiv, but the Italian sound of 'a,' wiiich is ah or 'a' 
in far, bar, etc.," and my recollection of French pronuncia- 
tion sustains me in the opinion that the sound awe is rarely 
met with in a final syllable of French words, the nearest 
approach to it being, perhaps, the nasal sound "on," as taon, 
bon. If the sound belong to another syllable beside the final, 



— 8 — 

"o" before "r" is often eni])Ioyecl, as in /ort, encore, George, 
etc., and " au " in such words as maure, taureau, and others. 

The aversion of many English-speaking persons, especially of 
the uneducated class, to give the Italian sound to "'a," is mani- 
fested in their changing "a" into "ar," as Chinar, Asiar, Cali- 
forniar. This may account for the first syllable of " Ar-kan- 
sas," — a name which, some authorities contend, was originally 
" Akensa ; " and if this was the name used to indicate an indi- 
vidual of a tribe, — an Akensa, — in the plural an ''s" could be 
added, l)ut without cliange of i)ronunciation. 

A similar change is now taking place from "■ ah "to " awe " in 
the name of a pair of conical mountains to which the old French 
settlers gave the suggestive and appropriate name "Mamelles." 
With the same perversion of orthoepy and etymology as has 
occurred in the name of the State, we now find it almost univer- 
sally spelled and pronounced "Maumelle." 

If the Frenchman who first wrote the name from the lips of the 
Indians themselves had intended to convey in letters the sound 
sass he would never have written "sas," for that is invaria- 
bly pronounced sali. We have "'as," "bas," "pas," and 
many others among the most common in the language, but to 
indicate the final hissing sound of the English "s," the French- 
man would, perhaps, have written "ase," "asses," or "ace," 
as in base, basses, glace, etc. 

The inclination of English-speaking tongues to throw thf> 
accent back to the antepenult or preantepenult may account foi- 
Ar'kansaw, accent on the first : but the tendency in the French is 
to throw the accent on or near the final syllable. 

This corresponds, too, with what we have all observed in the 
pronunciation by Indians of their own names — i.e., to accent 
the final. 

If the object of your committee were to find what the original 
name was, I have no doubt it would decide upon " Akensa " with 
a secondary accent, or ' ' Arkansa. ' ' But if you take common 
usage into consideration, and discuss the propriety of using 
"sass" or "saw," you will be glad to learn that your corre- 
spondent has no further suggestions to make. 

Respectfully, 

GEO. C. HARTT. 



— 9 — 

I said I had nothing historical or traditional to offer you, but a 
native of Arkansas, French Creole, now past seventy-two years of 
age, tells that he remembers that during his boyhood the common 
pronunciation among the French of the name of the Indian tribe, 
river, and Territory vvas Akansah. G. C. H. 

AR'-KAN-SAS\ 

The argument for the pronunciation of the name of our State 
drawn from history and French usage, as well as the early usage 
of Congress, is unanswerable. This is well presented in the 
papers furnished by Hon. U. M. Rose and S. W. Williams. 

It is further shown by this : The State was almost exclusively 
settled by immigrants from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Mis- 
sissippi, Georgia, Missouri, and the Carolinas. These pioneers 
naturally kept up communications — not onl^- by correspondence, 
but by interchange of visits for pleasure or business — with friends 
and relatives at home. These latter would naturally speak often 
of the new State, and in doing so would adopt the pronunciation 
of the immigrants. Throughout all these States it is to this day 
pronounced by all the old inhabitants and their children in three 
sjdlables, with the broad Italian sound of "a," and the final '^ s " 
silent, as if written Ar-kan-saw. Indeed, it is still so pronounced 
b}' the great mass of the present population outside of Little 
Rock and a few other points to which there has been a consider- 
able flow of population from the Northern States. 

I have taken some pains to find the origin of the pronunciation 
with the accent on the middle syllable, and the change of sound 
of "a" in the last two syllables. It is quite modern, and has 
not yet the sanction of universal usage. I think it came from the 
ridicule which it was once the habit to throw upon the manners 
and customs of the people, which extended to their pronunciation 
"Arkansfuo," because associated with "Arkansas Traveller," and 
was taken for granted to be a corruption of something more 
elegant. New-comers with some culture found it too suggestive 
of pioneer roughness and vulgar drawl, and, without considering 
that it was a correct and really highly poetical name, gave it what 
they considered a nicer and more clipping sound. This affecta- 
tion, passing unquestioned, was gradually adojjted by others not 



— 10 — 

to the manner bred of calling it correctly, until it is now sanc- 
tioned b}^ some lexicographers, and, unless arrested, may pass 
into our literature. But it is nevertheless shocking, not only to 
old traditions, but good taste, and never fails to call to mind the 
mode of speech of Hotspur's courtier. 

Something may be said of the accent. It is an Indian name. 
That people were alwa3'S strongly inclined to accent the last 
syllable in words of two, and the first and last in words of three 
syllables. We have followed them generally. Witness 0-hi-o, 
Il-li-nois, Ken-tuck-y (originally pronounced with " ee " sound), 
Ten-nes-see, I-o-wa, and many others. The analogy would throw 
a slight accent on "■ ar " an'd a fuller one on "sas," thus giving 
the common, and certainly the better pronunciation of the State 
commonly used. JOHN R. EAKIN. 

Hon. John R. Eaki7i, President Joint Committee. 

Sir: — My thoughts upon the subject of the pronunciation of the 
name of the State must be necessarily few, since I have little ac- 
quaintance with the eai'ly history and traditions of the State. Like 
others who are governed by the standard dictionaries of our lan- 
guage, I have been in the habit of pronouncing the word phoneti- 
cally, and with the accent on the penult. This is supposed to be 
the polite method and in accord with common usage. Having 
learned that formerly the name was pronounced differently, and 
thinking that those who had been instrumental in introducing a 
change into our dictionaries could give a good reason therefor, I 
addressed an inquiry to President Porter of Yale College, from 
whom I received the following letter in response : 

" Yale College, New Haven, j 
Conn., April lo, 1880. ] 
" Deah Sir : — President Porter desires me to say in reply to your 
inquiry that lie presumes the diango to which you refer (in the 
pronunciation of Arkansas in Webster's Dictionary) was made in 
consequence of the change in common usage on that point. He 
has no special information on the subject. 

'• Your obedient servant, 

"•Noah Porter, 
"Per F. B. D." 



— li- 
lt will be seen from the ahove that common usaue is presnmed 
to be the canse of the change. It seems to me that the act of a 
lexicographer changing the name of a State as to pronunciation 
ought to have some more reasonable ground than the mere pre- 
sumption that it is common usage. If these lexicographers act 
upon this principle, their great dictionaries must cease to be 
standard authorities. There are two reasons that should preserve 
both the spelling and original pronunciation of our State. 

1. The pronunciation preserves the memory of the Indian tribe 
who occupied this territory before the whites settled upon it. Its 
pronunciation carries with it thus an important historic fact. To 
change it is to erase the inscrii)tion of the historic truth as to who 
were the original inhabitants of our State. 

2. The present spelling clearly indicates the nationality of the 
adventurers w'ho first had the hardihood to explore this vast extent 
of country. 

As the Dutch have left their footprints in Southern Africa, by 
the geographical names assigne^l to places, localities, etc., so the 
French have in their explorations left, as the monument perpet- 
uating the memory of their labors, the spelling of geogra])hical 
names. 

The present dictionary mode of pronouncing the word does vio- 
lence to the first historic fact, and to drop this and then change 
the spelling would do violence to the second historic truth. Both 
truths are w'orthy of i)reservation. 

In the pronunciation of proper names, the law of analogy ought 
to have some weight. We find on examination a large numljer of 
Indian names ending in the German sound of '•'a." These words 
do not always end alike. We find "a," "aw," ''as," "ah," as 
terminations having an equivalent pronunciation. These Indian 
names ending thus have a common origin and belong to the same 
family, and are as characteristic as " ch " is of the German or 
"ski" of the Polish. 

Among those ending in "as," we may mention Tensas, Tus- 
carawas, Bahamas, Opelousas, Utawas. 

Of those ending in "ah," we may mention: Utah, Cohuttah, 
Tepeeotah, Tekamah. 

Of those ending in " aw," we may mention: Walashaw, Choctaw, 
Chickasaw, Eutaw, Tensaw. 



— 12 — 

By far the greater number end in "a." We may name among 
them : Alabama, Iowa, Minnehaha, Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, 
Tekonsha, Washita, Ouachita, Waukesha, Ottawa, Tehama, 
Tawawa, Towanda, Chippewa, Tuscahoma, Tuskaloosa. 

Arkansas belongs to tliis group of Indian names, and therefore, 
by analogy, ought to be pronounced without sounding the final " s," 
and with the accent on the antepenult. As a recognized authority 
in the empire of letters, and especially so relative to the pronun- 
ciation of Indian names, we give below the letter of the poet 
Henry W. Longfellow : 

''Cambridge, April, 12, 1880. 
"Dear Sir: — I am sorry that I cannot answer your questions, 
nor even refer j^ou to any good authority on the subject. 

"The gazetteers give both pronunciations — Ar-kan'-sas and 
-<4r'-kansaw — and leave the reader to choose. I confess I prefer 
the sound of Arkansaw as being more musical than Arkansas. 
" Regretting my inability to de«ide the qiiestion, I am, 
' ' Yours very truly, 

"Henry W. Longfellow." 

I trust the good taste of America's greatest poet will have 
some influence with that over-nice class who blush to pronounce it 
Arkansaw because some regard it as vulgar and indicative of a 
want of culture. 

LEO BAIER, 
President of St. Johns College. 

Little Rock, May 6, 1880. 
Sirs : — All of our early accounts of the first exi)lorations in 
this country were written in the French language, and hence the 
French orthography still adheres in many of our local names. 
Three-quarters of a century ago the country now called Arkansas 
belonged to France. It appears that the final broad Italian sound 
of the letter "a" was common in the Indian languages. In our 
modern spelling this sound is represented in various ways — as by 
a final "h" in Utah or Tahlequah; a final "w," as in Choctaw; 
or simply the final "a," as hi Omaha; or a final " s," as in Tensas. 



— 13 — 

Many instances of each of these rules might be given. The object 
in each case is evidently to reproduce the original broad sound of 
the letter "a," as used among the native tribes. In the French 
language there is no letter " w, " and the letter " h " is not used 
in such cases; but instead tlie letter "s," silent, is often used in 
order to indicate a broader sound of the final "a." Instances of 
that kind are innumerable. 

The question is as to whether the name of our State should be 
pronounced "ArA;awsas " or "Arkansas," having the final Italian 
sound. It is absolutely certain that the name as pronounced by 
the Indians was the same as if spelled in our language Arkansaw. 
Reference to but few sources of information will make this ap- 
parent. Let us take the following authorities : — 

In the memoirs of the Sieur de Tonty, 1678, the name is written 
Arkanras. By the same author the name "Tensas" is written 
Taengas. In a letter written b}^ him, probably about 1679, the 
name is written Arkansas, just as it is spelled to-day. These 
are the oldest authorities that I have found. In Marquette and 
Joliet's account, 1673, the name is spelled Arkansea aud Akansea. 
In La Salle's map, about 1683, Akansa. In Father Hennepin's 
account of the discovery of the Mississippi River, 1681, Akansa. 
In Joutel's historical journal of La Salle's last voyage, 1687, 
Accanqeas. In La Harpe's account, 1723, Arkansas. In the 
journal of M. Savoule, 1701, Arkansas. In the journal of Father 
Charlevoix, 1721, Ao'kansas and Arkanseas. 

There is no evidence that the name was ever pronounced with 
the accent on the second syllable until about the time of the 
foundation of the State government ; and then it was an excep- 
tional pronunciation, properly regarded as an innovation. After 
the cession of the territory to the United States, there was an 
occasional effort made to anglicise the orthography, and in various 
old maps and geographies the name is found spelled Arka7isaw. 

As to the final "s" in the name something may be said. In 
the oldest book relating to this country that I have in my pos- 
session — namely, '•' L'Histoire de la Floride, par I'lnca Garci- 
lasso de la Vega, printed at Paris in 1670 — the broad final "a" 
in all Indian names thus ending is represented by the final vowel 
"a" alone — as in Cliacta for Choctaw, and so on. In later 
works the final "s" was added. This may have been done to 



— 14- 

indicate a graver accent of the vowel, or, what I think most 
likely, by the adding of the "s" to make up the plural in such 
phrases as "i^e pays des Arkansas" and '■'■La Riviere des Ar- 
kansas." In either case the effect would be the same, as the 
final " s " is silent in either event. After the cession by France, 
the question as to the final " s " seemed to be still unsettled. 
Thus, in Nuttall's "Travels in Arkansas," in 1819, the name is 
spelled sometimes Arkansas, and sometimes Arkansa. 

People are sometimes asked, if Arkansas is to be pronounced as 
if spelled Arkansaw, wh}^ Kansas should not receive a similar pro- 
nunciation. An attempt to reconcile all discrepancies of orthog- 
rai)hy and pronunciation would be manifestly hopeless ; but in this 
case no particular difficulty exists. It is apparent that the sound 
of the original name of our State was that represented in English 
by the spelling Arkansaw; but that was not the sound of the 
Indian name Kansas. We have seen that in Joutel's Historical 
Journal, 1GH7, Arkansas is spelled Accangeas. In the same journal 
Kansas is spelled Chanzes. M. Perrin Du Lac travelled tlu-ough 
Upper and Lower Louisiana in 1801, 1802, and 1803, and went 
home to France and published a book under the title ^^ Voyage 
daiis les Deux Louisianes," at Lyons, in the year of the Republic 
12 — that is, in the year of Christ 1805. He was a man of 
standing and of literary accomplishments. His work was trans- 
lated into German and published at Vienna. I believe it was 
never translated into English. In that work he spells Arkansas 
as it is spelled now; but he spelled Kansas, Kances. During 
his travels he visited the Arkansas Post, then occupied by the 
Spaniards, and also the Kansas Indians. It is clear, then, that 
the name Kansas is spelled in English, while the name Arkansas 
is of French orthography, and that the two names should not be 
pronounced alike. 

The name consists of the sound. The use of letters is merely 
to represent that sound. The name is s[)oken many thousands 
of times where it is Avritten but once. Spelling reformers pro- 
pose to adapt the spelling as nearly as possible to the sound; l)ut 
there is no one, so far as 1 have ever heard, who i)i'oposes to pro- 
nounce words just as they are spelled. If one should do this in 
our language he would not be understood. The sound was origi- 
nally Arkansaw. The name of the State might be changed by 



— 15 — <=-- 

sihipl}' changing the pronunciation, without clianging a letter of 
the written or printed word. In this, as elsewliere, I suppose, the 
matter must be governed by the '•'■ usus ef norma loquendi." If 
there is a clear majority of well-informed and well-educated people 
who call Arkansas '' Ar-A:on-sas," then I presume that they might 
govern as long as they could keep in power ; but I do not tliink 
that such a majority exists. Having lived in the State for over a 
quarter of a century, I can only give my opinion, as founded on 
observation, that at least four-fifths of the people i)ronoinice the 
name just as it was pronounced by the Indians from whom it was 
derived, and not in a way they would never have understood. 
As for the relative euphony of the two names, that is a matter of 
taste, and so cannot be settled by any rules, I suppose. But I 
think that "Arkansaw" sounds better than "Arkansas." In- 
deed, the latter pronunciation can have but little besides novelty 
to recommend it ; whereas the older pronunciation has this at 
least in its favor, that it is 'the true original name. With its 
French spelling, the name tells the histor}- of the country, which 
was at first an Indian country, and which name has come to us 
through the French. My conclusion is that the name ' ' Arkansas ' ' 
should rhyme with Utah, Ottawa, Choctaw, Tensas, and the thou- 
sand and one other well-known Indian names, which by all their 
diversity of spelling the more effectually indicate the sound that 
was intended to be symbolized. 

It would perhaps be more curious than profital)le to inquire how 
the pronunciation " Ar-fcaw-sas " came into use. Like a thou- 
sand other corruptions it crept on obscurely, suggested or fostered 
to some extent, probably, by a finical spirit of over-refinement, 
and an affectation of superior elegance, helped onward also by 
highly respectable persons who were carried awa^^ bj'^ a false 
analogy, or bj^ the force of evil example, until at present it makes 
such claims to propriety that certain learned lexicographei's figure 
the pronunciation as " Ar-Mw-sas, formerly Ai-kansaw." In all 
matters relating to ancient learning, respect is due to the erudi- 
tion of such writers ; but as in the case of individuals we defer to 
each one as to the proper sound of the name by which he is 
known in the world, so in the case of States and nations the peo- 
ple of whom they are made up must be permitted to fix the 
sound which ehall stand foi' the name of theii- population, land. 



— 16- 

or race. This right is conceded even to the barbarous tribes 
living in the interior of Africa. In the present instance, as in 
many others of the kind that might be mentioned, the common 
people, instructed only by tradition, having no object in showing 
off any unusual nicety of language, are correct ; while philo- 
logists, holding secluded sessions afar off, are easily captivated 
and misled by the first random traveller, who, being casually 
away from home, airs his mannerism by a fancied improvement in 
speech. It suffices to say that an immense majority of the people 
of the State — justified b}' every historical reason, as w^ell as by 
the orthography of the name, regarded in the light of the language 
from which it is taken — call it "Arkansas," and not " Ar-A:an- 
sas," and that no valid or even plausible reason has ever been 
given, or can be given, for calling it by the latter name. 

Respectfully, 

U. M. ROSE. 
To Joint Committee, Etc. 



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